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[[Image:Hissetal.jpg|thumb|300 px|Vishinskii (2nd from left), Molotov (5th from left), Stettinius (7th from left), Alger Hiss (right), ca. January 1945. ''Image courtesy Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, National Archives and Records Administration'']]{{cquote|According to data from [[Anatoly Gorsky|Vadim]] the group of agents of the [[GRU|"military" neighbors]] whose part [[Harold Glasser|Ruble]] was earlier, recently was decorated with orders of the USSR. Ruble learned about this fact from his friend Ales, who is the head of the mentioned group.<ref>[[#refHaunted|Weinstein, Vassiliev  1999]]: 269</ref>}}

[[Image:Hissetal.jpg|thumb|300 px|Vishinskii (2nd from left), Molotov (5th from left), Stettinius (7th from left), Alger Hiss (right), ca. January 1945. ''Image courtesy Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, National Archives and Records Administration'']]{{cquote|According to data from [[Anatoly Gorsky|Vadim]] the group of agents of the [[GRU|"military" neighbors]] whose part [[Harold Glasser|Ruble]] was earlier, recently was decorated with orders of the USSR. Ruble learned about this fact from his friend Ales, who is the head of the mentioned group.<ref>[[#refHaunted|Weinstein, Vassiliev  1999]]: 269</ref>}}

This memo apparently refers to [[Venona project|Venona]] [[#refVenona1822|decrypt 1822]], dated March 30, 1945, in which "Vadim" ([[Anatoly Gorsky]], chief of Soviet intelligence in the U.S.)<ref>[[#refSword|Andrew, Mitrokin 2000]]: 90</ref> reports,<ref>The translation used here is that of [[#refSchindler05|John R. Schindler]]. Cf. Eric

This memo apparently refers to [[Venona project|Venona]] [[#refVenona1822|decrypt 1822]], dated March 30, 1945, in which "Vadim" ([[Anatoly Gorsky]], chief of Soviet intelligence in the U.S.)<ref>[[#refSword|Andrew, Mitrokin 2000]]: 90</ref> reports,<ref>The translation used here is that of [[#refSchindler05|John R. Schindler]]. Cf. Eric

Breindel, "Goodies from the Venona files: Hiss’ Guilt," ''The New Republic'', April 15, 1996, reprinted in [http://frwebgate5.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=065346201217+0+2+0&WAISaction=retrieve ''The Congressional Record'' Vol. 142, No. 50] (April 18, 1996), pp. H03644-H03645</ref> following up on a conversation with "Ales," that "Ales has been continuously working with the neighbors [GRU]<ref>John Earl Haynes, [http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Diplo&month=0501&week=a&msg=obaTGXSrsBmHu2ps7TI6fA&user=&pw= KGB sources and the Hiss/'Ales' dispute], H-Diplo Discussion Logs, Humanities and Social Sciences Net Online (Michigan State University), January 5, 2005</ref> since 1935"; that for "a few years now he has been the director of a small group of probationers [agents]<ref>[[#refVStory|Benson/NSA]]: 17, 29 (PDF 19, 31)</ref> of the neighbors for the most part drawn from his relatives"; that they were "working on obtaining only military information," since [[GRU|Soviet military intelligence]] "allegedly are not very interested" in "materials about the Bank [United States Department of State]";<ref>[[#refBenson95|Benson 1995]]</ref> that recently, "Ales and his whole group were awarded Soviet medals"; and that after "the Yalta conference, back in Moscow, one very high-ranking Soviet worker allegedly had contact with Ales (Ales implied that it was Comrade [[Andrey Vyshinsky|Vyshinskii]]) and at the request of the [[GRU|military neighbors]] he conveyed to him their thanks, etc." Regarding "Ales," one FBI memo reports:

Breindel, "Goodies from the Venona files: Hiss’ Guilt," ''The New Republic'', April 15, 1996, reprinted in [http://frwebgate5.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/PDFgate.cgi?WAISdocID=065346201217+0+2+0&WAISaction=retrieve ''The Congressional Record'' Vol. 142, No. 50] (April 18, 1996), pp. H03644-H03645</ref> following up on a conversation with "Ales," that "Ales has been continuously working with the neighbors [GRU]<ref>John Earl Haynes, [http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?trx=vx&list=H-Diplo&month=0501&week=a&msg=obaTGXSrsBmHu2ps7TI6fA&user=&pw= KGB sources and the Hiss/'Ales' dispute], H-Diplo Discussion Logs, Humanities and Social Sciences Net Online (Michigan State University), January 5, 2005</ref> since 1935"; that for "a few years now he has been the director of a small group of probationers [agents]<ref>[[#refVStory|Benson/NSA]]: 17, 29 (PDF 19, 31)</ref> of the neighbors for the most part drawn from his relatives";<ref>[[#refBenson95|Benson 1995]]</ref> that recently, "Ales and his whole group were awarded Soviet medals"; and that after "the Yalta conference, back in Moscow, one very high-ranking Soviet worker allegedly had contact with Ales (Ales implied that it was Comrade [[Andrey Vyshinsky|Vyshinskii]]) and at the request of the [[GRU|military neighbors]] he conveyed to him their thanks, etc." Regarding "Ales," one FBI memo reports:

{{cquote|It would appear likely that this individual is Alger Hiss in view of the fact that he was in the State Department and the information from Chambers indicated that his wife, Priscilla, was active in Soviet espionage and he also had a brother, Donald, in the State Department. It also is to be noted that Hiss did attend the Yalta conference as a special adviser to President Roosevelt, and he would, of course, have conferred with high officials of other nations attending the conference.<ref>FBI memo: Belmont to Ladd, May 15, 1950 ([http://www.education-research.org/PDFs/VENONA.pdf FBI file: Venona]), p. 8 (PDF p. 11); [[#refRomerstein01|Romerstein, Breindel 2001]]: 137</ref>}}

{{cquote|It would appear likely that this individual is Alger Hiss in view of the fact that he was in the State Department and the information from Chambers indicated that his wife, Priscilla, was active in Soviet espionage and he also had a brother, Donald, in the State Department. It also is to be noted that Hiss did attend the Yalta conference as a special adviser to President Roosevelt, and he would, of course, have conferred with high officials of other nations attending the conference.<ref>FBI memo: Belmont to Ladd, May 15, 1950 ([http://www.education-research.org/PDFs/VENONA.pdf FBI file: Venona]), p. 8 (PDF p. 11); [[#refRomerstein01|Romerstein, Breindel 2001]]: 137</ref>}}

In its unanimous final report in 1997, the bipartisan [[Moynihan Commission on Government Secrecy]] agreed regarding Ales, "This could only be Alger Hiss."<ref>[[#refMoyComA|Moynihan Commission Appendix A]]: A-34 (PDF 36)</ref> Analysts at the National Security Agency have also gone on record that [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venona/dece_hiss.html Ales could only have been Alger Hiss]. The late U.S. Air Force historian Eduard Mark called the FBI and NSA's conclusions "eminently reasonable," writing that the evidence showed that "ALES was ''very probably'' Hiss."<ref>[[#refMark03|Mark 2003]]: 54–55, 57–88, 62, 64 (italics in original).</ref> John R. Schindler, professor of strategy at the Naval War College and himself a former NSA analyst, agrees, calling this identification "[[#refSchindler05|exceptionally solid]]" and the evidence "compelling." [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/docs/v46i4a08p.htm John Ehrman] of the [[CIA]]'s Directorate of Intelligence concurs, "it is clear that [[#refEhrmanSI51.4|Hiss alone remains the best candidate to be ALES]]." Christopher Andrew, writing with [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/world/europe/23poison.html ex-KGB agent] Vasili Mitrokhin, says the identification of "Ales" as Hiss is "beyond reasonable doubt."<ref>[[#refSword|Andrew, Mitrokin 2000]]: 599</ref> The codename Ales, concludes Mark Kramer, [http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/research_portal/hpcws.html director of the Project for Cold War Studies] at [[Harvard University]], "seems to fit [http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/37819.html only Hiss]."

In its unanimous final report in 1997, the bipartisan [[Moynihan Commission on Government Secrecy]] agreed regarding Ales, "This could only be Alger Hiss."<ref>[[#refMoyComA|Moynihan Commission Appendix A]]: A-34 (PDF 36)</ref> Analysts at the National Security Agency have also gone on record that [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/venona/dece_hiss.html Ales could only have been Alger Hiss]. The late U.S. Air Force historian Eduard Mark called the FBI and NSA's conclusions "eminently reasonable," writing that the evidence showed that "ALES was ''very probably'' Hiss."<ref>[[#refMark03|Mark 2003]]: 54–55, 57–88, 62, 64 (italics in original).</ref> John R. Schindler, professor of strategy at the Naval War College and himself a former NSA analyst, agrees, calling this identification "[[#refSchindler05|exceptionally solid]]" and the evidence "compelling." [https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/kent-csi/docs/v46i4a08p.htm John Ehrman] of the [[CIA]]'s Directorate of Intelligence concurs, "it is clear that [[#refEhrmanSI51.4|Hiss alone remains the best candidate to be ALES]]." Christopher Andrew, writing with [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/23/world/europe/23poison.html ex-KGB agent] Vasili Mitrokhin, says the identification of "Ales" as Hiss is "beyond reasonable doubt."<ref>[[#refSword|Andrew, Mitrokin 2000]]: 599</ref> The codename Ales, concludes Mark Kramer, [http://daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu/research_portal/hpcws.html director of the Project for Cold War Studies] at [[Harvard University]], "seems to fit [http://hnn.us/roundup/entries/37819.html only Hiss]."